Counterattack with Rosalie Esquivel!
by ForestRose10
Summary: Rosalie Esquivel, aka Raf's older sister, follows the life of the Autobots and a certain Decepticon. She has already won the heart of Bumblebee and, surprisingly, Optimus Prime himself. What's more, she's befriended someone behind enemy lines! With Bee as her guardian, for now, she ventures off and makes a best friend... with a Decepticon! Possible Jack x OC x Autobot or Decepticon
1. Episode 1: Darkness Rising Part 1

**Episode 1: Darkness Rising Part 1**

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Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers (Prime) in any way...or the song 'Survivor' by Destiny's Child. I just own my OC =)

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No One's POV:

Vrooooooooooooom! A small, yellow toy car sped by two humans, the youngest one imitating the rumbling sound made by a speeding race car. He was twelve years old and had chocolate brown hair and matching dark brown eyes that were covered by dark red rimmed glasses, looking more like his father. He wore a cream collared shirt underneath an orange vest; he also wore blue jeans and white shoes. He sat propped up against the wall with a remote control in his hand.

Beside him, was one of his older sisters. She was the only one in the family that looked after and cared for him, not to mention who listens to him. She was sixteen and had long red hair and blue eyes, something that she inherited from her mother. She was wearing a red tank top with a knitted white cardigan on top. She had jean shorts and red converses. She was reading a book that she had gotten hooked up on while having an eye on her little brother.

"Gee Raf, I'm pretty sure that you could break the world record for the fastest toy car ever," she joked.

Raf looked up from his racing and grinned at her. "Well, I did some small modifications to the battery supply, and it made some major changes to the speed. But Rose, can't you join in too? I mean, you do have your race car with you," Raf looked up at Rose with pleading eyes as he said the last sentence. Rose sighed. She knew that there was no way to get out of this one, after all she had promised him.

"Alright, let's race." Rose's toy car was of similar make as Raf's, but was a red Aston Martin with detailed white outlines. She would've gotten a yellow Urbana 500, like Raf, but she feared that they might mix theirs up. Rose didn't mind, but Raf liked to experiment and improve his toy cars, so it would be best to have different colours.

They drove the cars into starting position, and started a countdown.

"Three, two, one-"

_I'm a survivor, _

_I'm not gonna give up,_

_I'm not gonna stop, _

_I'm gonna work harder-_

Rose sheepishly answered her phone while sending a 'I'm sorry' glance at Raf. Raf just smiled back, giving a soft nod.

"Hello?"

"_Hello Rose. How are you and Raf doing?_"

"Hi Mom! We were just starting to race,"

"_Okay. Dinner will be done in another hour or two. Don't you think that you two should come home now?_"

"Um," Rose looked towards Raf's direction before giving her answer, "in ten more minutes, 'k?"

"_Fine, but no more," _And then she hung up.

"Okay Raf, we have ten more minutes, so...let's race!" Rose exclaimed, pumping a fist up into the air. Raf just laughed at his sister's anticipation. She was easily excited.

"Tree, two, one-"

A dark blue motorcycle of unknown make jumped over their heads and landed a few feet away from them.

"Whoa," they said, in unison. The rider just exhaled deeply, and turned his to look at them.

"You have no idea," he puffed out, leaning slightly on the motorcycle for support.

* * *

**Rose's POV**

He dismounted as Raf and I made our way over. That was just so cool, but at the same time, it looked scary. As we reached the guy, a faint rumbling sound from above made our heads turn to look up at two cars at the top of the hill. Something about them gave me the chills. My thoughts were confirmed when they raced down the hill and transformed into...robots? Okay, I must imagining things. But then I heard a whirring sound coming from behind me and I swear that I could have died. The guy's motorcycle turned into a robot as well, a female one. Her eyes were what captivated me the most, a mixture of purple and blue rings.

"This ends here, Cons," was all she said before running forward and attacking them while we ducked for cover. They shot an array of beams at her, and she dodged every one of them. Once she was close enough, she kicked one of them and sent him flying backwards. The other one tried to avenge his fallen friend, but was kicked down as well.

"What are they?" Raf questioned to nobody in particular.

"Talking Cars that turn into robots, or the other way around," Motor-cycle guy said. Okay, I really need to get his name.

"What's your name?" I asked, looking directly at him. He jumped a little, not expecting me to speak to him.

"Um...Jack. Jack Darby. Yours?"

I smiled at him. "Rosalie 'Rose' Esquivel, and this is my brother, Rafael,"

"But you can call me Raf," Raf piped in.

I heard a muffled shout and was shocked to see the motorcycle robot had been hit square on the chest. She skidded backwards on her back for quite a distance before screeching to a halt, unmoving. A set of tires from above alerted me that there was another car above, a car that looked very much like Raf's toy car. A Urbana 500, I think. I'm not that good with car brands, but I know everything about my dream cars, such as a Urbana 500 and an Aston Martin. It didn't surprise me as much as before when it jumped off the bridge and turned into a robot too. This one seemed to be siding with the motorcycle robot since he punched the attackers with no mercy.

As the blue robot came to, the yellow 'bot was just about to finish them off. He took a step backwards, and then I heard this crunching sound. He lifted a foot, and there underneath were our toy cars...or should I say, _crushed _toy cars. The bot whirred a sad sound, but somehow I understood what he said.

"**I'm sorry**_,_" he said,

"It's okay, really," Raf and I said simultaneously. While the yellow bot looked away from the attackers, he was shot down by one of them. As he tried to get back up, a heavy metal foot was pushed down to his face. He rolled over, only to have guns...laser beams...whatever those weapons are...pointing straight at his face.

"Leave him alone!" I turned to face Raf with big eyes. Not that I object, 'cause hey, they should but, what if they turn on us? My theory was proved correct when all eyes were focused on us.

"Please?" I whispered. Jack crouched down to Raf's height and said, "Bad call."

The two attackers looked at each other, and nodded. Before I could figure out what was going on, one of them started coming towards us. Raf and Jack started running out of instinct, but couldn't move. These beings were scary, yet really intriguing. I wonder if there are more of them out there? I wish that my future car , or motorcycle, was like them. I was yanked out of my daydream when I felt Jack grabbing my arm and leading me away.

"Run!" he cried. We ran over to this opening in the wall, a tunnel of some sort made out of a large pipe. As we jumped inside, we were still running like crazy because the robot was reaching in for us. Just as it was about to grab us, his arm was pulled back out. I heard some crashes and clangs outside, only to see the yellow robot's face peering in at us.

"**Run**" he said.

"Thank you," Raf replied,

"Yes, thank you," I agreed.

"**You're welcome**"

As the robot retreated and we continued walking deeper into the pipe, Raf asked, "What did we just see?"

"No idea, and I'm not sure that I wanna find out," Jack said as he lead Raf ahead.

"Why not? They seemed to be...fascinating," Jack just shook his head and carried on ahead.

* * *

**Next Day After Class**

Urgh! Why did I apply for advanced Social Studies? I have a major head ache from all the detailed rituals from every religion. Though today I did find out that Jack was in some of my classes! It was a bit awkward when I found out that Jack was actually in my English, Science, Math, Homeroom and gym classes, and I hadn't even noticed. Raf was in most of mine since he also took advanced classes, but he was there in the classes with Jack and I too. I walked outside and saw Raf waiting for me under a shady tree. I walked up to him with a huge smile on my face.

"What's up, Raf?"

"Nothing much. Funny that we had classes with Jack and didn't even notice it! And here I thought we knew the names of every kid in school!"

I laughed openly at that. I saw Raf waving to somebody behind me and saw that he was actually calling Jack over.

"Raf, Rose, hey. Look, let's just keep this between us and forget anything ever happened, okay?"

_Beep, Beep-Beep!_

A yellow Urbana 500 with black racing stripes pulled up beside us.

The doors for the passenger seat in front and the driver's seat opened up automatically.

"No! Not again!" Jack groaned. I rolled my eyes at his reaction and stepped closer to the car.

"**Raf and Rose,** **hop in**"

"It...wants us to get in," Jack said, gesturing at the open door. I blinked and looked at Jack for a moment. Didn't he understand?

"No, only me and Rose," Raf contradicted.

"How do you know that?"

"It said so," I said calmly.

"What?" Jack baffled.

"Your ride's over there," Raf pointed to the bike stand, where the dark blue motorcycle was parked. I saw that one of my closest friends, Miko, was portraying the motorcycle. I stifled a giggle. Oh, she would freak if she knew about this. But it's our secret, so I can't expose anything.

Raf climbed into the passenger's side of the car while I made my way over to the driver's side. But I wasn't certain if the car...um...robot wanted me to or not, so I was a little hesitant. I think the robot noticed this because it chuckled.

"**Climb in, I won't bite**"

I looked at it gratefully before shutting the door behind me. As soon the door had closed, the car took off. Raf and I shared a nervous, yet excited, glance at each other before focusing on the robot...car...whatever! Raf looked over at me pleadingly, so I guess that I would have to start.

"Um..." I quietly tried to clear my throat. "...hello. I'm Rose, as you know...somehow. What's your name?"

"**Oh, sorry, how rude of me. My name is Bumblebee, or Bee for short. Our leader, Optimus Prime, as requested your presence,**"

At the last sentence, I shared a scared and restless look with Raf. Their leader? That's what a villain would say, you know, the whole '_Take me to your Leader!_' kinda thing.

Again, Bumblebee seemed to understand the silence. I promise you, he's psychic or something.

"**I don't mean it as in a Decepticon-like way, I mean he is the one who guides us and tells us what to do.**" Silence. "**That didn't come out right either, huh? He's...well, I could tell you about his personality if that helps any?**"

Raf just shook his head. "No, no, Bumblebee. We get it...sorta. But who or what are Decepticons?"

"**A Decepticon are the opposite of an Autobots.**" Nothing. What are Autobots? "**Uh...not helping right? Let's see... equivalent to your world's 'villains'. Clear things up? I'm sorry, just wait till we reach base, then Optimus can explain everything.**"

"Hey don't be so hard on yourself; we understand what you're trying to say," I said soothingly to the alien life form, stroking its steering wheel.

"She's right, Bee," Raf agreed, smiling at the dashboard. "It's the fact that you tried your best; 'Always give 110%' that is one of our mottos, actually." Raf chuckled.

_~A message has arrived~ _

"**What was that?**"

I wondered what he meant, but then it clicked and I pulled out my phone.

"Oh, just my phone. Somebody messaged me, but I'm sure that it can wait till later," I explained.

"**We're here,**"

I looked out and started freaking out when I noticed that Bumblebee was heading head first..._hood _first towards a gigantic cliff face. I cooled down when I realized that a secret door opened up as we drove through it. We drove through a long tunnel before the tunnel opened up to a large opening where Bumblebee could easily fit. But what shocked me was the gigantic robot that stood in front.

I'm taking a big guess on that he's Optimus Prime; the aura of leadership simply radiated from him, along with loyalty, bravery and wisdom.

"Cool," I heard Raf drawl.

My eyes were as big as saucers, and my mouth went slack. The only response I could give was a "Uh-huh,"

I saw the blue motorcycle from yesterday behind us, along with Jack, in Bumblebee's rear-mirror. Maybe I was delusional, or was extremely tired, but: _are those arms around Jack's torso I see?_

I brushed it off and climbed out of Bumblebee as he transformed into his usual form. A red and white robot approached us as we looked around curiously. He peered down at us before looking up at the blue female.

"I thought you said that there were only three?" He enquired, but I did catch a hint of annoyance in his voice. What's his problem?

"Haven't you heard? Humans multiply." She stated bluntly before walking off. I snorted.

"Not that quickly," I mumbled to myself. The robots apparently heard me as they looked down at me. I blushed and looked up at Bumblebee who was smiling widely. I lowered my head down to the floor, finding it interesting. No seriously; there was a huge mark on the floor with one of the face-brands that Bumblebee has on his steering wheel.

Raf walks up to me and smiles. He then turns up to face the robots. "I'm Raf,"

"I'm Miko!" I heard another voice say. I gasp and turn to see Miko there. How come I didn't see her? From the looks of it, she hasn't seen me either.

"Miko?" I half screamed. She turned her head towards me, and her eyes popped out their pockets (not literally!)

"Rose!" she mimicked my tone. We stared at each other for a while before we noticed that everybody was looking at up. I mouthed '_later_' at her, and she nodded in understanding. She turned her attention to the bulky, green robot and ran over to him...her...it.

"Who are you?"

"Bulkhead," answered a deep, masculine voice. Suits him too, not in a mean way, but for him in general; He seems to have the strength of a bulldozer or something, overall really strong, like a bulkhead girder.

Miko gave a short gasp. "Are you a car? I bet a truck! A monster truck! Do you like heavy metal? How much do you weigh? Ever use a wrecking ball as a punching bag?" I had to cover my mouth to stop myself from laughing. Miko was firing questions at him as if there was no tomorrow.

Then Raf spoke up. "If you guys are robots, then who made you?"

The red and white robot simply scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Puh-leez," he exaggerated. I gave him a small glare. No one, and I mean NO ONE, messes with my little brother. I opened my mouth to speak my mind when Miko covered my mouth with her hand. I rolled my eyes. Sure, Miko may be my best friend, but sometimes I think that she's more like the sister 'who cares about me and notices Raf and I exist' I never had 'cause she knows me so well. Don't get me wrong, I have older, and younger, sisters, but they're not...my type of company. I took Miko's hand off once I reassured her that I wasn't going to say anything.

A loud thudding noise made its way over to my ears as the ground started to vibrate a somewhat. I looked up and saw who I think is Optimus Prime making his way over to us and stop right in front of us.

"We are Autonomous Robotic Organisms from the planet Cybertron, also known as Autobots," he explained. Even his voice showed authority.

Jack stepped forward. "Why are you here?"

"To protect your planet from the Decepticons,"

"The jokers who tried to bump us off last night?" Arcee cut in.

"Okay," I said slowly, stepping up to meet Jack's side. "Why are they here?"

Optimus Prime kneeled down in front of me and looked my straight in the eye. "A fair question, Rosalie. In part, they are here because our planet is uninhabitable, ravaged by centuries of civil war,"

"Why were you fighting a war?" Raf asked, his brows scrunching together in confusion.

Optimus turned his attention to Raf now. "Foremost, over control for our world supply of Energon. The fuel that gives life to all Autobots and Decepticons, alike. The combat was fierce, and endured for centuries. In the beginning, I fought alongside one whom I considered a brother. But in war, ideals can be corrupted. And it was thus, Megatron lost his way."

I shivered. For a second, I felt as if was there myself. How horrible. To lose someone you consider family to the opposing threat. Of course, Miko just had to ruin the moment.

"Is there going to be a quiz?" She asked while twirling her braid in one hand. Jack and Raf glared at her while I nudged her in the ribs, oh and I glared at her too.

"So what does Megatron, or any of this, have to do with us?" Jack questioned after reeling in from the information that had been presented to us.

"Megatron has not been seen or heard from for some time, but if his return is eminent, as I fear, it could be catastrophic. And now since you know of our existence," Optimus continued, raising up to his full height. "As of last night, I fear that the Decepticons now know of yours."

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**Cut! Thank you for reading! If you're interested, please review! The first few chapters aren't gonna be so interesting, that's why they're going to be put up quick, but the major change happens from episode 6 and onwards! :D Hope you like this!**

**Forest Rose**


	2. Episode 2: Darkness Rising Part 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers (Prime). **

**Episode 2: Darkness Rising Part 2**

**Rosalie's POV**

"_**Megatron has not been seen or heard from for some time, but if his return is eminent, as I fear, it could be catastrophic. And now since you know of our existence," Optimus continued, rising up to his full height. "As of last night, I fear that the Decepticons now know of yours."**_

Jack nodded. "Got it, if we spot any strange vehicles, call 911. Can we go now?" I was flabbergasted. Go? After all this, I don't think that I **ever** want to go back home!

I was about to protest, but Miko beat me to it.

"Are you insane? I'm living the dream here in BOTSwana, and I'm not going to let you, or anyone else for that matter, shatter it!" She said threateningly.

Optimus' voice cut in then. "It is best that you four remain under our watch, at least until we can interoperate our enemies' intentions."

"Optimus!" The reddish-orange and white Autobot muttered harshly, even though everybody else could hear it. "With all due respect, the human children are in as much danger here, than anywhere,"

"Children?" Jack and I said simultaneously, offended.

"They have no protective shell! If they go underfoot, they'll go..._squish! _Go where!" the bot said in a louder tone before taking an intimidating step towards us. I take a weary step back, unintentionally stepping onto Jack. We recoiled too fast for the naked eye, but the shock upon impact was irrelevant. I pointedly looked away, and gazed at the Autobots.

"Then for the time being, Ratchet, we'll have to watch where we step," Optimus ordered blandly. Just then, a bunch of green lights flickered on and off, suggesting some sort of activity is going on.

The bot named 'Ratchet' and Optimus moved to further inspect the alarm.

"What's that?" Jack asked, stepping out again.

Bee whirred something that I understood as: "**Proximity Sensor. That means someone's up top.**" Bee pointed up at the ceiling of the base.

Jack looked back at Raf and I curiously.

"Proximity Sensor," I explained. Jack nodded while Miko had a 'what-the-heck-are-you-talking-about' look on her face.

"Someone's up top," Raf finished, pointing up, the same way Bumblebee did.

"It's Agent Fowler," Ratchet grunted.

We looked over at him questioningly. "I thought that we were the only humans who knew about you guys," I said accusingly, disbelief in my voice.

Optimus looked over at us. "Special Agent Fowler is our designated liaison to the outside world. Since he tends to visit only when there are...issues, it may be best if you did not meet him at this time."

We nodded in understanding and looked for a place to hide. I looked around me, only to notice that the others had gone. Great, even my own brother deserts me. I heard the elevator coming down, and frantically searched for a place to hide. Just as I started to walk towards a place to hide, even though it was at the other end of the room, a large yellow foot stepped down in front of me. I looked up and sheepishly smiled at Bumblebee. I saw that Raf, Miko and Jack were hiding behind a corner close by. Bumblebee just smiled back.

A plump man emerged from behind the elevator doors with a cross scowl on his face.

"Seven wrecks, thirty-four fender benders, a three hour traffic jam, and a particular note of numerous reports of a speeding motorcycle of unknown make, and a black and yellow custom muscle car," He pointedly looked at Arcee and Bumblebee at the last statement. Arcee and Bumblebee shrugged at each other, but I noticed that Bumblebee shifted a little to provide a better cover for me.

"So, anything you gotta get off your tin-chest, Prime?" Agent Fowler responded harshly between clenched teeth. Ouch. I flinched from his tone. That gotta hurt. But if it did, Optimus chose not to show it.

"We have the situation under control, Agent Fowler," Optimus replied in his smooth voice.

"They're back, aren't they," Agent Fowler stated, without question. _Who's back? _I thought to myself.

"If you are referring to the Decepticons, I have doubts that they ever left; your planet is much too valuable."

"Then it's time to wake up the pentagon."

"Hear me Agent Fowler. We are your best, possibly your only, defence against the Decepticon threat"

"Says you."

"Hey fleshy," Bulkhead interrupted, "Did you see anybody get splattered on that freeway? Team Prime knows when to use force, and how much to use," and just like that, he crushed a weird tool that was lying about on the overlarge table.

"Bulkhead, I needed that!" Ratchet yelled at Bulkhead. I snickered silently at the scene.

"Enough!" came Optimus' loud and crisp command.

"Military involvement will only inflict more casualties. Perhaps you can withstand widespread casualties, Agent Fowler. I, however, cannot."

"Then do us both a favour, and handle this Prime," he stalked off to the lift, and waited for it to arrive. "Under the radar," he added. He entered the lift and pushed a button or two. "Or I will," was his final statement. When I heard the lift move upwards, I exhaled a breath I didn't know I was holding and slumped down by Bee's foot.

Bee looked down at me worriedly.

"**Are you okay?**" His eyes kept adjusting, much like a camera's.

I waved him off. "Yeah, just, ***yawn*** a bit tired, that's all. I didn't get that much sleep last night."

Raf marched over to me with a sceptical look on his face. "Well, that's what happens if you're on your phone all night, you know," he chided.

"But-but Raf! For hundredth time, it was not me!" I whined. Okay, I'm one to whine much, but Raf keeps accusing me of being on my phone last night...okay, so I was, but not on purpose! It was all that loser's fault! And since Raf and mine rooms are next to each other, the annoying _~A message has arrived~ _ringtone echoes out from room, and into his.

"Dude! He has a point! Even I heard it, and that's sayin' somethin'!" Miko exclaimed.

See, Miko is our neighbour, and her room is across from mine, only a small stretch of land divides my bedroom from hers. We usually leave our windows open at night to let the cool breeze in. Oh, did I mention that Miko's a heavy sleeper?

"But it wasn't me!"

"Oh, then who was it? Santa Clause?" Miko asked sarcastically. Boy, was she grumpy today. Must have been the lack of sleep.

"It was that idiot Vince! Can't he take a hint?! When a girl says no, it means NO!" I screamed. Okay, now I'm steamed. I did _not _want to go down that road. Vince is such an imbecile! He's asked me out god knows how many times and yet he doesn't get it! "The whole of last night he kept on texting and texting, heck, I even tried to mute my phone, but nooo. IT JUST MAGICALLY SWITCHES ON! Now, the buzz is really getting on my nerves..."

Raf and Miko silenced after my outburst, and I think Jack backed up a bit. I think even the Autobots hesitated and looked over at me for a second! I pinched the bridge of my nose in annoyance and in embarrassment. I _never _shout or have an outburst.

"Wait, hold on a sec, did you say _**Vince**_,as in '_Mr. Hot-Shot' _kept texting you? Wasn't he after... Sierra?" I noticed that Jack blushed a bit when he mentioned Sierra's name. I rolled my eyes. All the guys fall for her. She seems a little shallow to me, always hanging out with different guys each day and staying out after curfew at some dirt track or something. Whatever. Not that I care about Jack's love life, but I still think he could have done better.

"Um, FYI Jack, do notice that he is also know to be a player, so that makes him '_Mr. Hot-Shot Player_'," I smirked.

Jack rolled his eyes.

Miko came forward and sat next to me on the cold tiled floor. "May I see your phone?"

I gave her my phone and then she went into my _read messages_. Her eyes widened at the amount of messages I had to go through.

"You see what I've been through?"

She nodded sympathically and was about to hand me my phone back when she halted, a certain envelope catching her attention.

"What?" I asked her.

"Um...you have a new message..." Miko spoke quietly.

"Hmm? Oh, must have been from when we were travelling in Bee. Let me see that," I took the phone from her and when on to read my message.

**To: Rosalie **

**From: Vince**

_**Hey R, What's up? Yeah, I haven't seen you around recently, and today, I saw you with that nerd Darby and the tiny midget nerd. C'mon babe, ya know ya wanna hang with the big boys, right? So give me a call, and I could be all yours, - Vince, your soon-to-be boyfriend.**_

What. The. Hell. My brows furrowed and teeth ground together in anger. What the hell, who does he think he is?!

"That was the last straw! I'm gonna kill him! And how did he get my number any way?! I can handle him constantly hitting on me, 'cause I literally hit him back (more like punch him back), but he DOES NOT mess with my friends, and most importantly, my little brother! Miko, I need that axe and a flamethrower."

"Uh-oh, what'd he say?" Miko asked, coming over to take a look at my phone. I did not feel comfortable reading it out loud, so I showed her the message.

"WHAT THE HELL!? I'M GUNNA KILL THAT LOW LIFE! HOW DARE HE!" Ah, there's my over-protective sister! One of the main reasons love her: She keeps Vince away.

"Wait till school Miko, that's when we'll get our revenge..."

I yawned, and then I realized that I was still sitting on the ground. I stood up and tried to shake the feeling back into my legs since they've fallen asleep.

A metal hand came down in front of me, taking me by surprise. I looked up to see Bumblebee smiling at me and motioning me to get on. I hesitated for a second before climbing on. I grabbed hold of his thumb as he walked over to a raised ramp.

I yawned, and my eyes started to get droopy. Bumblebee noticed this and placed me on top of the green sofa located on the high ramp. There was also a TV and a DVD player here too.

I got off his hand and looked up at him. "Thanks, Bee."

* * *

I heard the sound of footsteps clanging on metal and forced my eyes to open. I saw Jack and Raf ascending the stairs that led to the ramp I was on. Oh, I felt so much better now. I literally jumped out of bed...well sofa.

"Hey you guys," I said as I beamed at them. They seemed surprised at my appearance.

"Hey, Rose. How are you feeling? You should go back and lie down before Bumblebee has my hide. He made me and Raf promise to keep you in bed." Jack said nervously, scratching his head.

"Oh, well, sorry. No can do. I just need a thirty minute nap, and then I'm as fresh as baked bread, so you can't stop me!" It was then I noticed something weird. The base was empty; with the exception of Ratchet. "Where is everybody?"

Raf came over and gave me a small hug, which I gladly returned.

"Well," Raf started, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Last time I checked, they headed out in search of someone named Cliffjumper. I didn't get it at all since no one bothered to explain."

I nodded. Hold on, where was...

"Rose! You're awake!" That was all I heard before being tackled down on to the warm, carpeted floor of the ramp.

"Hey, Miko. Was just thinkin' 'bout ya."

"Urgh! Stupid Earth-tech!" Ratchet swore. I rolled my eyes before heading over to him with Raf following my lead.

"How come you guys are using human computers?" Raf asked.

Ratchet just grunted and groaned with annoyance. "It certainly isn't by choice. It was handed down to us when we took over the former missile silo; I make modifications as I see fit."

More block-ups showed on the giant screen and Ratchet's only reaction to that was to hang his head in defeat.

Raf looked up at me, and I nodded, knowing that we both were thinking the same thing.

"I think I can fix that," Raf offered.

"Oh, really," Ratchet scoffed. "You know this is complex technology you're dealing with, I'm mean, it isn't a child's toy," Ratchet gave a nervous laugh.

I rolled my eyes as Raf started to do his hacking expertise.

"Raf, add this too," I leaned over and typed some things as well before looking up at Ratchet. "Now try."

Ratchet rolled his eyes and reluctantly faced the computer. His expression: priceless. I looked over at him sceptically.

**:**_** Ratchet! Open the Groundbridge. Now! **_**:** I recognized that voice to be Optimus, so I hurried over to the railing and peered over to where Ratchet quickly pulled down on a lever. A portal of some sort opened, and in the background, a huge blue explosion could be seen, along with vehicles. I recognized Bumblebee and Arcee in the group, so I'm guessing that the jeep and the semi-trailer truck are Bulkhead and Optimus respectively.

My eyes were so mesmerized by the beautiful blue explosion that I forgot about the Autobots for a second. "Whoa," I gasped.

"Whoa, would be the right word to say," Jack said as he appeared next to me.

Optimus, Bulkhead, Arcee and Bumblebee stumbled in before the explosion. As soon as Optimus had stepped through, the 'Groundbridge' was shut down by Ratchet.

"Cutting it a bit close. How about Cliffjumper?" Ratchet asked.

None of the other Autobots made eye contact with Ratchet, which only meant one thing: Cliffjumper is no more.

Miko decided to jump in and fire questions away like no tomorrow. "What was that explosion? Was there a fight? Can I come with next time?"

Arcee came out from behind Optimus with a _really _irritated frown on her face. "Look-" she started harshly.

"Hey, hey, hey, Miko, let's um... go see what the bots hide in their sock drawers" Jack said nervously, putting an arm around her shoulders and leading her away.

"Seriously?" She grumbled

Optimus turns to face Arcee. "Arcee. What did you see?"

Arcee hung her head and spoke shamefully and heartbroken. "Not Cliff. At least, not anymore. He was mutated...butchered like something from the con experiments during the war,"

Then without warning, she started swaying and fell down on to one knee. My hands flew up to cover my mouth from shock.

Bee moved forward. "**Are you okay?**"

Arcee put up a hand. "I'm fine. Just...dizzy."

"Robots who get dizzy?" Miko spoke softly.

"Robots with emotions," Raf added.

"Robots who get hurt," I whispered.

"Robots...who can die..." Jack muttered.

I looked over to see Ratchet scanning Arcee like he did to me, though on her, a certain area appeared red.

"What is this?" Ratchet leaning towards her outstretched hand to examine it closer. From where I was, it looked like a purple blot.

"Dunno. Cliff was covered in it. Leaking it,"

"Wait..." Ratchet scratched off a bit of it with a knife-like object. "go take a decontamination bath. Now!" Ratchet ordered.

Jack flipped his phone open and frowned."Um, Optimus, I hate to bug, but... um no bars."

Optimus walked closer to us. "A security precaution. The silo walls isolate all radio waves."

"Well, if I don't call my mom, like now, I'm pretty sure that the cops will be out looking for me,"

My eyes widened at that statement. I got my Android phone out and checked my bars, and indeed; no bars. Mom was gonna flip!

"Have you broken a law?" Optimus leaned in closer to us, so that we were face to face.

"Um, curfew," I said, nervously shifting the weight on my feet.

"It's after 10 PM," Jack added slowly.

Raf nodded. "We better get home too, or we'll be grounded for a year," he looks up at me with a serious face and I nod back at him.

"Earth customs. I hadn't considered," Optimus rose, but you could hear the regret in his voice. "But the issue of your safety remains. Bulkhead," he called. Bulkhead looked up. "Accompany Miko home,"

"Awesome! My host parents are gonna freak!" Miko yells and does a little happy dance. I chuckle and shake my head.

"And maintain covert surveillance, in vehicle form." Optimus added.

"Curb side duty, got it," Bulkhead agreed, walking up to stand next to Optimus.

"Aww," Miko moaned.

"Bumblebee," Bumblebee looked up to see who called his name. "You'll watch over Rafael and Rosalie. At least, you will watch over Rosalie temporarily." Bumblebee looked over at us with a small smile, and I returned it with one of my grins and Raf smiled back.

"Ratchet-"

"Busy," was Ratchet's answer just as Arcee reappeared. Wow, he cut off Optimus.

"Arcee, you'll accompany Jack."

I looked at Jack as he looked away a scratched the back of his head.

Arcee looked alarmed and started to sway, though you could tell that it was faked. "Ooooh, still dizzy,"

"You're fine, says your physician," Ratchet cuts in. He got a glare from Arcee in return.

"**Raf, Rose, are you coming?**" Bee beeped. Raf and I rushed down the flight of stairs and just as we appeared in front of Bumblebee, he transformed into his vehicular mode. I have to admit, I love his car mode. I've always wanted a yellow Urbana 500, and now my 'guardian' is one.

Bee opened up both the doors to the driver side and the passenger side; Raf climbed into the passenger side, but I hesitated.

"Bumblebee? Is it okay if I can sit at the back?"

"**Of course,**" I climbed into the back via driver's side with a 'thank you' and sat down. I was slightly caught off guard when the seatbelt slinked its way across my body on its own. Bee's motor started up quietly and before I knew it, he sped out of the base. It was still quite a drive back to the city of Jasper, Nevada, so I rested my face against the nice, cool window. A million little white stars were dotted across the navy blue night sky. I could just imagine the Autobots travelling through and to all those scattered stars.

"**Sleep, Rose. Sleep.**" And that's exactly what I did.

* * *

**Another chapter/episode done! I'd really appreciate reviews from you all, so please don't be shy! Next episode: ****Darkness Rising part 3**

**Princess of Dreams (Guest): **Thank you for your review! I've also been waiting for a story in which Raf had a sibling who cares about him and that got involved with all the trasnformers =) So in the end, I decided to make one myself =D And all the BIG changes shall appear after the first...5?...episodes or something. I'm not saying anything more than that! =D

**Forest-Rose**


	3. Episode 3: Darkness Rising Part 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers (Prime)**

* * *

**Episode 3:**

** Darkness Rising Part 3**

* * *

**Rose's POV**

Bumblebee, Raf and I are currently parked somewhere in the Nevada desert. Raf was in the passenger seat playing one of his racing games with Bee while I was lying down in the back row reading a book. I was careful to not let my feet touch Bee's car seats.

"**Just put your feet down. It doesn't matter, honestly,**" Bee told for what seemed the millionth time.

"I'm good," I replied. I looked over at the monitor to see that Bee was leading, but then Raf started to gain speed and catch up to Bumblebee. Just as his yellow car's front tires were aligned with Bumblebee's red car's rear tires, Bumblebee went to the right, making Raf's car spin out of control.

Raf stared at the screen in shock. "Argh!" he cried as he leaned back into his seat.

"**I won again!**"

"No fair, Bumblebee! You've been driving for a lot longer than I have!" Raf chuckled.

"I have to agree with you there, bro," I agreed.

"**Let's head back to base. The others should be heading back as well at this point.**"

"Yeah, let's. Time to see what's on today's 'after school' agenda." I said, placing a bookmark on the page I was reading. I sat up straight and suppressed a slight giggle from the seatbelt slinking around my waist. Another thing about me, I am **very **ticklish.

"What do you think the others are doing? Jack and Miko that is," Raf asked, looking back at me. I thought about it for a second.

I shrugged "Well, knowing Miko, she probably convinced Bulkhead to go for a roller coaster ride in the desert, but I have no idea what Jack and Arcee are doing. Do you know, Bumblebee?"

"**Probably racing against themselves. Arcee likes to move with speed, like I do. Though, I'm **_**much **_**faster than anybody on the team,**" Bee bragged.

I rolled my eyes. "Sure you are, Bee," Raf and I said in unison.

We were nearing base when Raf remembered something. "No! I forgot to get the game console from home! And I was going to beat the others, and Bumblebee, at it too," Raf pouted.

"**No problem. We can drive back and get it. We did arrive back much earlier than predicted any way,**"

"Wait, do you mind if I get off? I want to go see what's going on in base at the moment," I asked Bee.

"**Sure, I guess,**"

I climbed out of the car and went in through the small, hidden human sized door, but not before waving Bumblebee and Raf off. It took a while to get to the common room since the tunnel seemed to go on forever, but finally I made it through.

"Hey Ratchet, how are y- WHOA!" I saw a crazy metal object fly across the room and land on a small, raised table. Ratchet frantically searched the room for the source until his optics landed on me. Yep. I've been studying some Cybertronian words, though mainly body parts at the moment. That was the book I was reading while in Bumblebee's alt form.

"Rosalie! Get out of there!" He yelled, his voice full of panic and authority.

"Ratchet! What's going o- ah!" What I thought was a lifeless, metal object turned out to be some moving techno-gadget with glowing purple eyes. Okaaay? Not what I had in mind for today's activity list.

That...mutant... looked at me and started to advance in steps as it skitters from one platform to another. My legs started to run back towardsthe tunnel since Ratchet was by the far end of the room, not to mention that I'd have to pass by the live tool. Though the problem was that no matter how fast I ran, the skittering object was faster. I saw a small metal beam ahead, and that triggered an idea in my head. I made a wild grab for the beam and swung it, making impact with the metal object. It staggered a few meters backwards before charging towards me again. I threw the beam at it, but it caught the beam and through it to the side. Note to myself: **Never **hand your enemy your weapon. I foolishly turned my head to look over my shoulders and tripped. Ouch. That's gonna leave a burn mark. I rubbed the sore part of my left knee, but not before realizing that the metal tool was only a few meters away from me. I braced myself for the rough impact as it leaped into the air, ready to take me on; though it never came.

I peeked through one eye, only to come face to face with shiny, navy blue metal. I crawled backwards to get a better view of the picture, and saw that Optimus was standing in front of me, his blaster directed at a pile of scorched metal. He inclined his mouth plate and weapon before lowering his servo down to my level. Though I was still recovering from the sudden attack, I didn't hesitate to climb on and sit. His digits curled slightly, forming a boundary of some sort to make sure I don't fall off. Whoa, it looks waaay different from up here, but then again, Optimus _is _taller than the other Autobots.

Optimus made his way over to Ratchet, but then the little creature started to stand up and move again. I gasped, which indicated to Optimus that something was wrong. He looked back at the mobile device and crushed it with a big, powerful _stomp! _

"And **stay **down!" Ratchet spat out menacingly. I had to smile at that. "Ugh, what could have caused that?" Ratchet waved his arms towards the crushed metal for emphasis.

"I have a grave suspicion Ratchet: Dark Energon. If the residue Arcee found on Cliffjumper brought your broken equipment to life, it would stand to reason that the very same substance brought Cliffjumper back from the dead,"

I just sat there patiently in Optimus' servo, trying to unravel what's going on myself...at least unravel as much as I get.

"Hmm...that would explain his life signal inexplicably coming back online, but **dark **Energon? It's so scarce to be virtually nonexistent. What would it be doing on Earth?" Ratchet asked himself.

"Um...maybe it got transported. I mean, what's the chance that one substance that can't be found in the entire universe is on Earth?" I chirped, trying to help.

"It **is **transported...by Megatron." Optimus confirmed, nodding in agreement with me.

"For what purpose," Ratchet asked, baffled.

"To conquer this planet by raising an army of the undead."

Ratchet gave a shaky laugh. "Well, Megatron will have to break quite a few toaster ovens, I mean, where on this world, would he find that many Cybertronian dead?" Ratchet pointed out, incredulously.

I was about to ask them what their plan of action was going to be, when the sound of tires brought the conversation to an end. Arcee, Bumblebee and Bullhead zoomed into view as they entered base.

Jack, Raf and Miko exited their guardian's vehicle form with a shout of excitement. Suddenly Bulkhead stiffened and pulled out a black electric guitar case from his...chest plates?

"Sorry," Miko apologized. "Must have left that in the back seat," she takes the case from Bulkhead and scans the room for something... or someone. When she sees me with Optimus she takes a double take. I just rolled my eyes at her.

"Autobots," Optimus called out. "Prepare to-" he stopped midsentence to observe Jack, Raf and Miko with their guardians behind them, and then looked down at me still in his grasp. Why did he stop?

"Roll out?" Arcee helped out.

"Remain here," Optimus finishes. I looked up at Optimus with a mask of surprise on my face. He usually takes them with him on a mission. What's he up to... "Ratchet, you'll come with me. Arcee, we'll be outside communications range for some time, so I am putting you in charge."

I could see Miko conversing with Bulkhead about something, though I could not hear her. But could hear Bulkhead say something that sounded like 'he never picks me.' I'll have to ask her about it later.

"Optimus, with all due respect, playing bodyguard is one thing, babysitting is another. Besides, Ratchet hasn't been in the fields since the war," Arcee complained, but said the last sentence more hushed.

"My pistons may be rusty but my hearing is as sharp as ever!" Ratchet hollered.

"For the moment, it's only reconnaissance." Optimus explained patiently, but there's something in his voice that seems...crisp.

"Then why do I hear an edge in your voice?" was her only reply.

"Arcee, lot has changed during the last 24 hours, and we all need to adapt. Ratchet, bridge us out." Okay, now I started to panic. He started to walk towards the ground bridge with Ratchet following him.

"Um...Optimus? Not to be pushy or anything, but could you please let me down before you and Ratchet go scouting?" Sadly, he was talking to Ratchet about their plan of action and didn't hear me. Oh god! There has to be some way, and I can't exactly jump down either. Bee!

"Bumblebee! A little help!" I called, knowing that he will hear. And luckily, he does. His head snapped up and his optics widened as he rushes forward, chanting Optimus' name. The leader paused and looked back at Bumblebee, surprised.

"Yes, Bumblebee?" He asked cautiously.

"**May I please get Rose back?**" He asks, gesturing his servo towards me. Optimus' optics widened slightly with shock as he realized what he was about to do.

"Of course. Pardon me, little one, I didn't mean to ignore you." Optimus apologized as Bee gently took me into his care.

"It's alright Optimus, I know that you didn't mean it," I smiled at him, meaning every word I said. He smiled ruefully back at me before proceeding with Ratchet.

Bee and I just stood there and watched them depart, along with everybody else.

As soon as the Groundbridge had closed, Bee's shoulders slumped forward. He looked down at me and smiled.

"**Hi!**"

I laughed openly. Oh we could be twins. Every morning, I would keep on saying 'Hi! Hi! Oh guess what? Hi!'. It drives my family crazy, well, everybody but Raf.

"Hi, Bee. Thanks for the save,"

"**No problem,**" he replies with a smile. He walks back to where the others are crowded around each other and sets me down between Raf and Jack. They all, meaning my human friends, gave me weird looks saying 'why were you with Optimus?'. I just mouthed 'later' to them.

"So chief, what's on the activities list?" Jack asked Arcee as he pivoted on his heels.

"I'm going on patrol." Was her brief, curt answer.

This caught Bulkhead's attention. "But I thought Optimus wanted us to stay?"

She turned towards him and for a second I feared that she was going to unleash her wrath. "When you're in charge, you can call the shots. Bee, with me." And just like that, she stalks off.

Bee looked down at us, mainly Raf and I, and gave us a weak smile before trudging off to follow Arcee. "**Why me?**" Bumblebee whined as he follows her.

And just before transforming, Arcee added: "Bulkhead, you're in charge." Arcee and Bee transformed and skidded out of base.

"So what's on the activities list?" Bulkhead asked nervously. Just then, a high pitched tone screeches throughout base. Oh great. Miko+ Electric Guitar= Deaf Organisms.

"How about...Band Practice!" She suggested as she stroked one more chord. Bulkhead, Jack, Raf and I covered our ears, trying to block out as much sound as possible.

"But, we're not a band," Raf pointed out.

"Why be so unsocial? C'mon Raf. You play anything?" Miko pleaded as she tried to string together an orchestra.

"Um...Keyboard?" Raf asked a bit unsure as he holds up his laptop.

Laptop and samples. Good. Jack?" She complimented.

"I...sometimes mess around on the harmonica," Jack admitted sheepishly.

"Do I look like I do country?" Miko deadpanned

"You don't need to be so plain Miko, I mean, it is hard to master the different styles, so if Jack here can play so, why not let him?" I asked, giving her one of my 'why'd-you-do-that' looks.

"Nope. Just cover yourself with fake blood, and jump around screaming," Seriously? Fake blood? Miko has a unique taste of music, I must say.

"Now Rose-"

"Um, no thanks. I think that I'll go ahead and read instead," I declined, jabbing my thumb up towards the human lounge ramp.

Miko glared at me. "Nuh-huh, not gonna happen. I, -I mean we- need a lead singer, and you have a killer voice, so if you don't mind, I'm signing you up for singer,"

I glared back. "Like you did back in 6th grade? Sorry, you'll have to find a replacement."

"Who? Bulkhead? Yeah right."

"Hey! I have feelings you know!"

We just tuned him out. "Make me."

"Fine, I'll drag you here to prove it!"

"Too late!" I called over my shoulder as I ran up the nearest ramp. Miko cursed down below and shook her head. Yes! She backed off!

"Oh fine, you big sissy. Anyway, _**we **_will rock out tonight _without _Rose. It's fine by me, so it's fine by you. Bulkhead! You're percussion. We'll go for big, industrial sound. DIY, we're a band...without a lead singer..." Miko mutters the last part to herself. I chuckle from my place on the rise.

"You guys just better know the songs. This one's a ballad; 'My Fist, Your Face!'" And that was how her 'rock hard' mayhem started. Everybody, including Bulkhead, covered their ears, trying to block out the noise Mino calls music. I was leaning over the railing when the flashing of green lights caught my attention. Wait, this happened before. What did it mean again? Didn't it mean...shoot! I realized that I won't make it down to hide behind Bulkhead in time to hide, and isn't it just my luck to be right next to the elevator as well? I saw the elevator rushing down the funnel and I panicked for the second time today. I pressed myself against the back wall of the elevator, hoping to be hidden enough.

Just in time too, because the next thing I know, Agent Fowler stepped out. "Prime!"

"Agent Fowler," Bulkhead addressed, a bit nervously. "Uh, he's not here, nobody's here, 'cept of course," Bulkhead rushed the last two parts quickly, which I guess made Agent Fowler a bit suspicious. Smooth Bulk'.

"Oh, where did he go? Wait, don't tell me, he's out pancaking a mini mall," He started to move towards the stairs, and I could see Bulkhead making tiny adjustments to his position, but I also noticed Bulkhead stepping onto the cable that connected Miko's electric guitar to the amp. Oh boy. This is not going to end well... "Now, I don't know what language you bots speak on your planet,"

"Cybertronian," I whispered to myself, subconsciously.

"But Prime promised that he would handle the Decepticons! And blowing a crater in the middle of Nebraska is not what the word 'handling' means, so you tell Prime tha-" He glances down towards Bulkhead's left pede where a black cable is connected to an amp with Raf's laptop on top.

"Since when are you bots electric?" Agent Fowler asks suspiciously. Bulkhead's optics widen as he realized that the game is up.

Slowly but surely, Jack and the others came out from behind Bulkhead. I saw Bulkhead mouth to me '_stay there_', which I gladly did.

"Hey, how's it going?" Jack asks sheepishly, giving a small wave towards Agent Fowler.

"Contact with civilians! Team Prime has really gone off road this time. Wait, don't tell me: You're running a day care centre!" The officer snaps.

Jack waves with both arms, directing all the attention to him. "Uh, we're interns, uh,"

"Student interns," Raf adds.

"Earning extra credit in auto shop" "robotics" Miko added the same moment Jack mentioned 'auto shop'. I shake my head in disapproval. Can't they work together at least once?

The agent gives a slight shake of the head. "Ookay, let's move. I'm taking all three of you to federal custody. It's for your own protection-" Bulkhead's pede stomps down in between Agent Fowler and the teens.

"**We're **protecting them," Bulkhead says, authority laced in his voice.

"Is that so? Well maybe you can explain that to **my **superiors, at the pentagon," he demands as he walks over to the payphone to make a call to whom I guess is to the pentagon. But before he manages to make a dial, Bulkhead's big digit cuts the line.

"Don't use that, it's... out of order."

"This isn't over bigfoot! Not by a long shot!" was all I heard before I heard his feet banging against the stairs. This was the tricky part; to remain hidden. He climbed to the top of the stairs and headed towards the elevator. I relaxed since I thought that I was in the green, but boy was I wrong. I was jerked by my arm and came face to face with the man who helped the government.

I stared fearfully into his coal black eyes. "Um...hi?"

"You may have those with you, but this one's coming with me. See ya later bot," he sneered at Bulk' before dragging me into the elevator with him.

Just before the doors closed shut, I heard Bulkhead mutter, 'Bumblebee's gunna kill me,'

I tried to loosen his grip on my forearms, but with no prevail. I was stuck. When we reached the top of the base, the sight took my breath away. The natural landscape stretched for as long as the eye could see. Dark grey clouds were scattered across the sky, hiding the sun from view, even if a few rays penetrated the thick, cloudy barrier. But there were also patches of clear blue sky.

"Okay kid, get inside and buckle up, we've got a bit of a ride in front of us," he ordered. I reluctantly climb in and close the door behind me. I hesitated a second before putting the belt on; for some reason I expected the belt to wrap itself around me automatically.

"Okay, so I see that you can follow directions. Okay, what's your name, kid?" He asks as he prepares lift off.

"Full, or short?" I ask.

"Full would be nice."

I sigh. I don't like using my full name. It feels so long! "Rosalie Oakley Drew Danielle Drago Esquivel. Long enough?" His only respond was a wide-eyed blink.

"Uhh, what'd they call ya for short, kid?"

"Rose, and please don't call me a kid!"

"Yeah, yeah, hold on a sec...Kid," okay, now I know that he's taunting me.

He pressed a button on the headboard and motioned me to be quiet. "Sir, this is Agent Fowler, we have a situation. I'm on route from the Autobot base, I'll brief you in person." And he signs out.

"Um... so...where are we going?" I asked shyly.

"The pentagon. How did you end up with those robots anyway?"

"Autobots, sir," I corrected him. "The Autobots saved me and my brother, as well another one of us from Decepticons," no need to tell that Arcee brought the Decepticons to Raf and I right? Even if it was unintentional.

Agent Fowler gave me a sideways glance. "Your brother?"

"Rafael or Raf for short. He was the kid with the brown hair."

"Ah. The girl? What's she to you?"

"Best friend," I answer with a shrug.

Agent Fowler looks at me with a smirk forming on his lips. "The other guy?"

This caught me off guard. "Jack? We'll he's...um...he's a frie-"

Suddenly a red object appeared on Agent Fowler's radar, distracting Fowler from his previous question. I exhale. Gods, why couldn't I answer that last question? I mean, he's a friend right? But I barely know the guy. ...Hmmm...Interesting question, Agent Fowler, Interesting question...

The helicopter was suddenly jerked upwards. "What's going on?" I ask Agent Fowler, terrified by this sudden action.

"We've got company! First the freeways aren't safe, now air travel?"

"What is that thing?" I asked, panicked as I saw this alien like flying object.

Agent Fowler made the helicopter do a back flip, making us come behind our attacker. Now i could see that the hovercraft wasn't human at all; more like Cybertronian technology than anything. Agent Fowler deployed a machine gun from under the helicopter and started firing like crazy at the object.

"You want to dance, Con? I'll lead!"

Con? As in Decepticon? Why did I have to get dragged into _this_! I could have been back at base right now!

The flying con object flew upwards and behind us, chopping the helicopter's tail in the process. We started spinning at dizzy speeds and dropping altitude too fast for my liking.

"Where's an Autobot around when you need one!" Agent Fowler hollered as he tries to regain control of the craft. We were meters away from the ground when two pair of mechanical arms crash through the windshield. My eyes are so wide that I fear they might pop out of their sockets.

"Hey, kid! Press that square red button over there! Right in front of you!"

I searched frantically for the 'square red button', but there were millions in here I tell you, MILLIONS! "Um...which one?" I asked sheepishly, eyeing all the red buttons.

He let out an annoyed growl. "Right in front of you! It activates an emergency beacon that goes straight to the Autobot base!"

I searched over again, but this time I found it. Stupidly, I never looked directly in front of me, only at the buttons on the overhead monitors.

I stretched forward, trying to reach the button though never making it quite there. Just as I was about to press the button, a pair of mechanical claws took hold of my arms. I thrashed against them, but to no use. As the arms dragged me out of the heli, I managed to press the button before the whole structure crashed down seconds later.

* * *

I woke up with a killer head ache and a small bump behind my head. I groaned softly as I massaged my head. One look around me told me that I was not at base, or any other place I know of. Cautiously, I stood up and walked around the corner. My breath hitched in my throat as I saw a Decepticon symbol on one of the screens. I sprinted towards the opening in the corridor, trying to get out of here. I observed the objects in the room: A few berths, medical equipment- hold on. Stop right there. Yep. I'm in a Medbay. I could see a control panel with the same gadgets as the board Ratchet uses to contact the Autobots.

Yes! That's my way out of here but… Where's Agent Fowler? As if in queue, I heard a loud screech.

"**_What! You lost the other human!? How could you drop one measly flesh bag?!_**" came the muffled cry.

I cringed from the sound. I'm taking it as I'm the 'measly flesh bag'.

I was searching for a way to get up to the control panel when I heard heavy footsteps behind me. I couldn't find anything to hide behind, so I used my previous tactic with Agent Fowler. Just in time too, because a big, red and white mech entered the room.

From the way he kept grumbling to himself and moving around the room expertly, I'd guess that he's the medic of this place. Funny how he and Ratchet seem to have similar habits...maybe it's a medic thing. I could see light coming from one of the rooms down the corridor; maybe that's the way out of here. I tried to sneak around the corner undetected, but fate seemed to have other plans for me. Just has I neared the door leading the way out, I accidently kicked a loose bolt, which resulted with the door slamming shut automatically in my face. I slowly turned around and realized that the red medic had aimed his long blades at the source of the surprise sound, which – of course – is me.

I froze up as he took a few steps in my direction and crouched down to my level.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? The missing human, perhaps? Won't 'Scream be proud." He taunted, enclosing me in his servo. I didn't even bother to put up fight since there is no point to it; you'll just make them more annoyed at you if you do.

"Say, what's someone like you doing here? You're only a sparkling!" He asks, genuinely curious.

I just rolled my eyes. "Well, it certainly isn't by choice, and I'm not a 'kid' or a 'sparkling' for the millionth time! I'm sixteen for crying out loud!" I snapped, finally having enough with everybody (well, mainly Fowler) calling me a kid.

The unknown mech just raised his optic ridge (**eyebrow**). "I was just asking, no need to snap. And for your information, I only called you 'kid' or 'sparkling' or whatever you want to call it, once."

I exhaled a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Sorry. It's just that Agent Fowler keeps calling me 'kid'. I think that he's just messing with me." Wait, a sec, why am I apologizing? "Hold on, why should I say sorry? I mean, he's the one who's got me captured, right? But then again, I did snap at the Decepticon mech for no reason..." and basically, I just kept on talking to myself, unaffected by the Decepticon who was enjoying my little show.

"You sure like talking to yourself, don't you **kid**?" The medic smirked, adding the last word as if to taunt me. I just groaned and banged my head against the cool, smooth surface of his servo, which is still holding me by the way.

"Why, gods, why?! What did I do wrong!" I cried out of desperation.

The medic gave out an exasperated sigh along with a shake of his head. "What should I call you then?"

I blinked, pinched my arm, and blinked again. Nope. I'm not dreaming; a Decepticon asked me what my name was. "Um..." I hesitated.

"C'mon, I won't bite...seriously; it would damage my perfect paint job and my dentals (**teeth**)." I just stared incredulously at the mech. Seriously?

"Fine. Name's Rosalie. Yours?"

"Why, I thought you'd never ask, name's Knock Out, the fastest, handsomest, coolest, brave-" I cut him off his long, meaningless, boastful sentence.

"Okay, I get it, no need to get ahead of yourself," I wave him off, "Oh, and for the record, Bumblebee is waaaaaay faster than you, not to mention he's the coolest and the bravest and much more! Ha! Take that you over buffed Decepticon!"

Knock Out looked offended, but that mask slipped of soon enough and was replaced with a smirk. "You never said who's handsomest,"

I snorted. "Please, Ja- I mean the ja...nitor is handsomest. Um...yeah," heat crawled up my face at my simple mistake. _Seriously? What's wrong with you Rose?! _

"Uh-huh, is that so. A janitor you say? Those old humans who clean at schools and other mangy places? Yeah, about that...I don't believe you. So tell me...who is it?"

"..."

"Fine, be that way. I will find out, eventually, and then, I'll destroy that one organism you say is better looking than me."

"Oh, yeah, well, make me!"

Knock Out (finally) releases me on a berth and crosses his arms, and says in a really posh tone, "Oh, trust me, I can; I am Knock Out, I give orders out, I don't listen to anybody else's comman-"

"**KNOCK OUT!** Have you repaired the Decepticons from our previous battle against the Autobots!" screeched an infuriated voice that seemed to come closer and closer. I panicked and tried to make a run for it when Knock Out grabbed me _again_, but this time, cupping his hands together and hiding me inside them.

'_Weird' _was my first thought to his action.

"Starscream, would you quieten down a bit? There are sleeping patients here," Knock Out shushed, nodding his head towards the berths in the far corner of the room.

"Urgh, forget it. Any sign of the human?"

Silence.

"Knock Out..." the Starscream con says dangerously.

"Uhh," Knock Out hesitated. I was totally gobsmacked. He actually hesitated. I expected him to turn me in, as if I was a disgusting thing. Knock Out shakes his head. "Sorry, did you say something Kommandant? I wasn't paying attention,"

Starscream growls. "Fix them Medic. That's an order!" with that said, the commander stalks out of the Medbay dramatically.

"Drama Queen," I mutter to myself.

"Yeah, that's what we call him too," Knock Out agrees, removing one of his cupped servos so that now I was just sitting on one of his servos.

I face palm. Seriously? Is this a medic thing or something?

"What? Was it something I said?" he asks, inquisitive.

I shook my head. "No, well, yes, sorta, no, I don't know. It's just that...you and Ratchet have similar properties, I mean, you both grumble to yourselves when you work, you both know what you're doing in the Medbay obviously, and you both have incredible hearing abilities,"

Knock Out surprised me by laughing out loud. Wow, I seriously thought that I would never live to see a day where the villain laughs openly, a real true laugh that is.

"Me and Ratchet? Similar? Please, you make me laugh!" Knock Out laughs out, wiping away a small amount of liquid that had gathered by his eyes.

I put a hand to my chest, acting shocked. "Me? Oh, please, YOU make ME laugh. Didn't you say something along the lines 'I don't listen to anybody else's commands?'" I teased.

Knock Out's laughter came to an abrupt end. "I don't. That's why I didn't turn you in. I don't want to turn you in to Starscream who'll only give you over to Lord Megatron and take all the credit. No, no, no, I shall wait till Lord Megatron comes back and hand you over personally," Knock Out scoffs. I small part of me felt dampened by that statement, but, I knew that it was too good to be true.

But there is this one question that's bugging me... "Hey, Knock Out?"

"Hmm?"

"Why do you listen to Lor- forgive me, _Megatron _then?" I scolded myself for calling the Decepticon leader LORD Megatron. I shuddered at the thought.

"Well, because...I...uh..." Knock Out stopped, speechless.

"Knock Out?"

"I...-" Before he could say anything else, a large form broke through the Medbay doors.

* * *

**Whoa! Over 5,000 words! I guess that's gonna be the average length for all the chapters from now on ^.^ Sadly, school has started again, so updates are going to be slow. 9****th**** grade is no joking matter in this country =P The reason why I couldn't update was because my last laptop's word stopped working, so I got a new laptop now and yeah… I love to hear reviews from you guys; keeps me going! :D Don't be a stranger, just review and tell me what you think of it! :D **

**autobot Nightmare: **Thank you! All reviews all are what keeps me going, among other things such as a passion for Transformers =) No, I can't reveal which Decepticon it is, sadly, but I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out soon enough though =D =P

**Eve (Guest): **Haha, I can feel your anger Eve, and yes, I sympathize for Rosalie too…wait…I was the one who made Vince talk her though….Oh well! And again, no, sorry, I can't reveal anything =) What fun would that be? Love your review!

**Decepticon Scout Star: **Thanks for the cool reply! =D Glad to know that you're enjoying it! =)

**Princess of Dreams (Guest): **Haha, yeah, I totally want to kick Vince all the way to Pluto and make him stay there =P And your patients will be rewarded, hopefully =) I can't guarantee that you'll love it, but I know that I will =) Thank you for your kind word on Rosalie though, and I love your reviews =D 3

**Forest~Rose**


	4. VERY IMPORTANT! I'm so sorry!

**I really wish that I was updating right now, but the reason why I'm out here now is that my laptop has gotten a virus =( I'm borrowing my mom's laptop now to write this, I am terribly sorry for this! I've tried to fix it, honestly, but nothing's working! I'll have to take into service once my dad's back, but until then there will be a pause in ALL my stories. I'm reallly sorry, and hope that you can forgive me when the time comes. =( **


	5. Episode 4: Darkness Rising Part 4

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Transformers (Prime), only my OC Rosalie Oakley Drew Danielle Drago Esquivel, or Rose for short :)**

* * *

_**~Episode 4~**_

**Darkness Rising Part 4**

* * *

**Rose's POV:**

***Last Time***

_But there is this one question that's bugging me... "Hey, Knock Out?"_

_"Hmm?"_

_"Why do you listen to Lor- forgive me, Megatron then?" I scolded myself for nearly calling the Decepticon leader LORD Megatron. I shuddered at the thought._

_"Well, because...I...uh..." Knock Out stopped, speechless._

_"Knock Out?"_

_"I...-" Before he could say anything else, a large form broke through the Medbay doors._

***Present Time***

A dust cloud followed shortly after the intrusion. Aww C'mon! Knock Out was going to tell me why he listens to Megatron! And the sorta good part: he doesn't know!...I think. I coughed and coughed till the dust bunnies settled on new surfaces before opening my eyes again. There, right in front of me was a yellow bot we all love, though I've got warn you, he looks pretty steamed right now. Bumblebee was right in front of us, his blasters out and pointing at Knock Out. I could tell that Knock Out was still frozen from the surprise assault to his door.

"Bee!" I cried, happy to see my guardian.

Bee's helm ducks down to see me sitting on the palm of Knock Out's servo. I swear I saw Bumblebee's optics widen at the sight. I stood up to greet Bumblebee properly when Knock Out's servo clenched around me once again.

He brought me up to his optical level and whispered into my ear: "Sorry Cupcake, but I've got a reputation to hold," and that was all he said before he transformed his other servo to a small blade, though I noticed that it was a good 2 meters away from me.

"Ah, Bumblebee, so nice of you to join us," Bumblebee made an infuriated attempt to come towards us, but Knock Out's switchblade came closer to me be 1 meter. "I wouldn't do that, if I were you," Bumblebee halted, glancing at me worriedly. I heard Knock Out mumble something to himself, but I'm pretty sure I misheard it. It sounded suspiciously like 'I know I wouldn't', but hey, I must be wrong.

While Knock Out kept taunting Bumblebee and boasting about himself, he never noticed a particular small femme bot creeping up behind him. I turned my head and saw Arcee motioning me to be quiet. I nod and pretend to listen to whatever Knock Out has to say; though I am keeping Arcee in sight from the corner of my eye. The next few seconds were hectic. Arcee did a summersault and landed on Knock Out's back, while I flew out of his servo. But luckily for me, Bumblebee anticipated this reaction, so he caught me easily in his servos.

"Kidnapping kids now, huh Knock Out?" Arcee joked with a serious tone, never lifting her blaster off  
his chest plate.

"Rosalie," Knock Out wheezed.

"Huh?" Arcee asked, bewildered.

"Her name's Rosalie; she doesn't like to be called 'kid' or 'sparkling' or whatever...and here I thought you'd know better since she's a part of Team Prime," he chuckled, using the distraction to shove her off and stand up.

Bumblebee's optics narrowed at Knock Out and Knock Out only raised an optic ridge at him in return.

"Hold on a second, how do you know her name, stalker?" Arcee cut in, waving a hand in the air. Knock Out and me made eye contact and shared a knowing look with each other.

"Ah, well, you get curious over time. I'm no stalker. She," Knock Out pointed at me, "on the other hand can tell you all about...if she wants to," he applied a smirk by the end.

All Autobots in the room looked at me curiously, confusion and disbelief in their optics. Knock Out used this opportunity to escape, though I was the only one who saw.

I crossed my legs and looked up at the bots sheepishly. "Um...hey, what's cooking?"

Arcee gave an annoyed sigh and walked towards the door.

"You okay? Did he hurt you? Any experiments? Conflicts? Boasting? Okay, scratch off the last one; I know he did."

I laughed. Only Bumblebee could become so agitated when it comes to Raf and I...not even our own parents are like that... "I'm in top shape, just a little tired. No, none of that, only the boasting,"

"Oh good. That was the Decepticon medic. His name is Knock Out and he's really egotistic," Bee explains as he sets me down.

"I know, he told me,"

Bee froze. "He...told you? He just...said so? He didn't boast that he was the medic?"

I simply nodded. "Yeah, well, I sort of figured out that he was a medic, but he told me his name...along with him boasting about his awesomeness...why? Is something wrong?"

Bee transformed into his vehicle form and opened the passenger door. I walked over and sat down on the offered place, the seatbelt automatically wrapping itself around me. Usually Bumblebee would speed off into the horizon, but at the moment he was going as slow as 10 km/h.

"I...don't know. It's unusual for him to talk to Autobots or Autobot friends in a civil manner."

"Guess he changed or something,"

"Or something,"

"Did you offline Bulkhead?"

"No. Plus, I haven't gotten the chance to do so yet. Why?"

"No reason...why are you here anyways? Not that I am not glad you are, but just wondering."

"Arcee and I got a call from Bulkhead saying that you and Fowler got captured by the Decepticons, which practically gave me a spark attack." I smile wryly at the headboard. Suddenly, Bumblebee gave a forced chuckle. "If you think that was bad, I must have offlined and gone to the pits when I found out that Bulkhead Groundbridged to the Decepticon warship with Miko, Jack and Raf."

"Raf!?" I exclaim as I start to worry for my little brother's safety.

"Exactly my reaction"

"Is he here? Bulkhead is with him right? Did he get captured? Is he injured? Is he-" rambled on for another minute or two before Bee beeped.

"Rosalie, calm down! Yes, he's here, and I'm pretty sure that Bulkhead is with him...I hope..."

I looked at the dash board worriedly before sinking into Bumblebee's car seat. I lean my head against the car's cool windows and stare expectantly out at the quiet hall way.

"I wish he'd just...appear. Doesn't matter how, just as long as he appears in front of us," I mutter, mainly to myself.

Bumblebee jerked to a halt. "Your wish may be coming true, look," Confused, I looked up in front of us, and my jaw dropped open. There, in the clenched servos of two Decepticon cronies, were Jack and Raf. "Hold on," and without warning, Bumblebee took off, straight towards the two Decepticons.

I gave a small squeal of surprise as Bumblebee accelerated forward.

Bumblebee, I hope you know what you're doing! I screamed to myself. Bee crashed right into the Decepticons, catching them off guard from the attack. Bee made sure to bang into them with the rear end of the car so that I wouldn't get damaged (if he gets damaged himself at all that is.)

Arcee jumped over us in her vehicle mode and transformed mid-air, just in time to catch Jack and Raf as they fell. As she sets them down, Bumblebee transforms with me still inside of him, but still, I somehow find myself sitting on his shoulder again. He stepped out from behind Arcee, and that is when Raf spots him.

"Bumblebee! Rose! You found her!" Raf cried as he rushed over. Bee kneeled down and lends me a servo for me to climb on, which I do. He lowers his servo close enough to the ground for me to jump down. I run over to Raf and hug him tight. I look over Raf's shoulder and see Jack staring intently at me, causing me to blush and look away. Unbeknownst to me, Arcee and Bumblebee shared a knowing look.

"Are you two hurt?" Bee buzzes, talking to Raf and Jack.

"We appreciate you clearing the front door for us, but storming the Decepticon warship was not part of the activities plan," Arcee scolded agitatedly.

"Tell me about it," Jack agreed, throwing his arms up into the air to make a point.

We walked for a bit longer in complete silence until we reached a corner where Arcee signalled us to stay back. She turned the corner and calls out "Friendly!" while the simultaneous answer was "Hello!" from a voice I recognized as Bulkhead's. Miko was the first thing that entered my mind.

"You brought the humans, huh," Arcee dead pans questioningly, retracting her blaster.

"You try getting them stay behind!" Bulkhead exclaims incredulously.

"We need to find Fowler and get these kids out of here," Arcee says, probably strategizing the best possible attack pattern.

"All I know is that he's with someone called Starscream, but that's about it," I add, hoping to shed some light to his whereabouts.

"Uh," Jack and Ref say in unison, "They're in the bridge."

"Well, what are we doing here for? Let's go!" I call over to them, making my way to Bumblebee who had already gone into his vehicle mode.

Everybody nodded in agreement and moved forward without question. We rounded a couple of corners with no interference, which was weird.

"Hey, doesn't it seem weird that we haven't seen any Decepticons?" I ask, rubbing my neck in the process. And just my luck, as soon as I said that a group of three Decepticons appear and start shooting at us.

"Looks like you jinxed us," Jack calls over nervously, trying to avoid all the shots being thrown at us.

Bulkhead moves in and blocks blasts from us while shooting at the Decepticons himself. As soon as a single shot hit one of the Decepticons on their chest plate, the Decepticon exploded, showering the hallway with scattered debris. Everything seemed to go in slow motion from there; Arcee jumped and engaged three newcomers in hand-to-hand combat, Bumblebee assisting her with his powered up shots. I felt someone grab my wrist and drag me towards the far side of the wall, and I turn to see Jack had dragged me and Raf over to Miko. But then, we had to move because a Decepticon head fell at the place where we were standing not so long ago. We are now situated at the centre of the battlefield, feeling more like on lookers than anything else. It felt like forever until the battle ended as abruptly as it started, broken debris getting throw here and there.

We all look at one another before continuing as if nothing had happened. Oh, I hope Optimus and Ratchet are doing alright, I thought to myself.

I watched, confused, as Bumblebee and Bulkhead entered a room and offlined a few Decepticons. What do they achieve by doing that? Once it was safe, Bee gave the 'all clear' sign.

"Alright, wait in here," Arcee commanded.

"What? Why?" Bumblebee inquired, astonished at the suggestion of leaving us alone.

"They are slowing us down, and they're easy targets," Arcee summarized, though I know she wanted to give more excuses. "They'll be alright in here, as long as they stay put." From the tone of her voice I knew that the last comment was directed for us to comprehend.

Arcee walked out of the room, and then Bumblebee and Bulkhead shared a brief look at each other before activating their blasters, in Bulkhead's case, his cannon, and moving out. We just stared out the door before the door closed.

"That, was intense," Miko pointed out.

"Was?" Raf stated incredulously.

"More like 'is'," I corrected.

"This is your fault that we are stuck in this intensity," Jack accused, pointing at her and having a furious look on his face. "What were you thinking Miko!"

"Did I ask you to follow me?" Miko retorted.

"You wanted us to be a band, doesn't that often mean playing together!" Jack spat out, anger lacing every word.

"Well, maybe I decided to go solo!"

"Well, maybe I have some regard for your safety!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, is your name 'Optimus'? You can leave my protection to Bulkhead, thank you very much!" While they were arguing, I couldn't help but notice poor Raf stuck in between them, and how he was becoming really uncomfortable.

"Guys! Knock it off!" I yell, but I just got glares from them instead.

"Argh! Stop it! Both of you!" Raf cries, running over to a ledge and sitting down, covering his face with his hands. My natural reflexes kicked in as I immediately ran over to him sat beside him, rubbing his back in comfort and hugging him.

Miko and Jack came over as well, looking guilty and disgraced.

"Oh hey, Raf, Raf, it's okay," Jack comforts, sitting beside me and reaching over to rest a hand on Raf's knee.

"Yeah, we'll be fine," Miko agrees, rubbing Raf's shoulder.

"Yeah, our 'bots will come over for us," Jack says, trying to lighten up the mood.

"Yeah, they're gonna take us home," Miko adds.

"How do you know," was Raf's gruff reply. I look down at Raf with worry shining in my eyes as Raf and I just sat there, hugging each other.

"Hey Raf, what'd you make of that?" Jack suddenly asks, gesturing towards this giant screen with red numbers and letters, as well as other symbols, scrawled upon it. My eyes go wide as Raf and I stand up to investigate.

We hop down, step to step, in order to reach the screen.

"It's important. Real important," Raf briefs us, gazing up at the billboard-like glass full of information.

"It looks like Cybertronian," I commented. Random, since it doesn't affect us, but still; I felt like I should say it.

"Cybertronian?" Miko asked, mystified.

"Yes; Cybertronian is their home language, um, mother tongue, if you will," I explained.

"We gotta get this to Optimus!" Raf exclaimed, as he studies all the different icons and symbols.

"How do you know if this isn't just a recipe for space nachos?" Miko inquired, hanging her arms limp in exaggeration.

"I know math when I see it..." I say in a daze.

"...and that is one serious equation!" Raf finishes, studying the flickering data on the massive glass screen.

"Can you, ah, download it?" Jack suggests, coming up with nothing else.

I could see the gears grinding at full speed in Raf's mind until his face lit up with hope. "I've got a flash drive," Raf shreds off his bag and unzips it, searching around for the small flash drive.

To me, the plan seemed flawless, but then I noticed something. "But Raf, I don't see anywhere to plug it in,"

Raf looks around and nods sadly, agreeing with me. "Yeah, this tech is way alien,"

I was so engrossed in the problem that we're facing, that I didn't notice the doors opening. However, I did notice the loud clanking sounds of footsteps behind me. I spun around and gasped.

"Guys! Hide! Con alert!" I half whispered as I grabbed Raf's hand and sprinted towards the ledge supported by some technology device. I was nearly there when I felt Raf's hand slip out mine. I screeched to a halt and looked back wildly for Raf. He ran to his backpack and shrugged it back on. I  
groaned inwardly before running back for him.

"Raf! What ar you doing! This isn't the tim-" To our dismay, the Con saw us and transformed one of its servos into a weapon and aimed the blaster towards us.

Raf and I gave a little scream and stumbled backwards. The air had been sucked right out of me; I just stood there, frozen like a deer in headlights.

Suddenly, it started firing shots at us, and that is when I went into overdrive; I grabbed hold of Raf's sleeve and pulled him along with me, keeping him in front. Just as one of the shots were gonna hit us, I felt something, rather, someone ram into me. The force not only pushed Raf and I out of the  
way, but also knocked us down as well. I fell to the ground with a thump!

Ow, that's going to form a bruise in the morning. As if that wasn't enough, I felt an extra weight land on me. Forget the bruises, I'm gonna be paralyzed! I just lay there for a second or two, not moving at all, I couldn't even remember what I was doing! Then it all came back to me in a flood of memories and flashes.

My eyes snapped open, only to meet with dark eyes. Wait, what? Nope, not Raf; he had more of a dark brown kind, plus, he had glasses. Jack, a part of my mind whispered to me. Out of sheer nervousness and fear, I shoved him off me. He rolled and banged his head on the floor...hard.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry, Jack! I don't know what came over me!" Of course you do, my mind chided. I sighed. I've kept my distance from guys ever since The Incident.

I crawled over to Jack and rested my hands on his chest, trying to see if he's awake. He groaned in response.

"Rosalie? What...happened?" He asked groggily. My heart winced with guilt.

"I'm sorry that I shoved you; you caught me off guard! Please forgive me!" I pleaded, my eyes becoming moist.

"Hey, it's okay. It was partly my fault, I didn't mean to shove you guys so hard," Jack comforted, taking one of my hands in his.

I noticed the Decepticon coming closer, so I gently took my hands out of his before crawling over to Raf.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, worry in my eyes.

"Yeah, are you?" I could sense the double meaning in those words, and I knew that he wasn't asking if I was hurt.

"I'm...fine. Yeah. I'm good." He didn't look convinced since he knew how badly I had been shaken up since The Incident.

"Miko! Take a picture!" Jack yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth to project the voice further.

"Good idea!" Miko called back enthusiastically. I face-palmed. Miko isn't gonna take a picture of the script, is she?

As to prove my point, just as the Con charged up his blaster to shoot at us, Miko yells, "Hey you!", drawing the Con's attention to the girl with a fiery attitude as she took a picture of him.

Beside me, Jack groaned.

"Hey, M!" I called over. "Not of him, of that!" I pointed to the screen.

I could see Miko's lips forming and 'o' as she took a picture of the correct object.

"Come on! We've gotta get outta here!" With that said, I took Raf's hand and ran towards the entrance door. In good time too, since just as we stepped out of the door, the Con started re-firing at us.

"Go, go go!" Jack chanted as we sprinted out of there, acting as if the whole place was in fire.

The Con chased us in leisurely paces, as if taunting us that we would never be able to outrun it. It stopped to charge its blaster. Huh, guess it can't do two things at once. Just as it was going to shoot, a loud series of honking brought our attention to a green mass in the horizon. Bulkhead, I thought. The car jumped and transformed mid-air, jumping aver us and landing a fatal blow on the Con behind us with a blast of his cannon. He pushed the Con and smashed it on to the floor, knocking it out cold. Ha!

Bumblebee pulled up to us in his vehicle form. Raf climbed in and sat in the driver's seat as Miko sat in the passenger's seat. I was going to sit in the back when Bumblebee's voice rang out.

"Rose, you'll have to ride with Arcee since my backseat is occupied with a drowsy agent," Bee whirred apologetically.

"It's okay Bee," I comforted, though inside, I was terrified. No, Jack's different, he's not like those people. Plus, it's only till we reach base. I took a deep breath and went over and sat behind Jack, tentatively wrapping my arms around his torso. I swear that we both turned at least two shades of red.

"I told you to stay put!" Arcee scolded as we gained speed.

"Sorta hard to stay put when the enemy is pointing a gun at ya," I grumbled.

I heard Arcee chuckle at me and left the matter alone.

We drove out of the Decepticon base in silence, and that's exactly what followed us for next few minutes: silence.

"So, ah. Um, what did you get dragged into while on the ship?" Jack asked nervously. I smiled. At least he wants to have a conversation.

"I was stuck with the ship's Medic for most of the time,"

"Really? Was he like Ratchet?"

I chuckled at the memories. "Naw. Well, his habits were similar to Ratchet's. They're both pretty engrossed into what they do, know their way around the Medbay, grumble to themselves while they work and have a very keen hearing range."

"You're lucky that he wasn't in one of his fouler moods. He can be such a fragging aft sometimes. No wait, all the time." Arcee added.

I scrunched my eyebrows together. I wanted to deny her and tell her that he was actually fun to be with, but then his words cut through my mind. 'Sorry Cupcake, but I've got a reputation to hold,' So, I just kept my mouth shut.

About an hour passed before we reached base, Jack and I talking all the way, even Arcee joined in some parts. We talked about everything, a range from favourites to hobbies. I learned that his favourite colour was dark blue, and I commented that it fits him perfectly, since he sort of had that authority figure inside of him. Of course, we burst out laughing afterwards.

When we reached base, it was empty. Now, I started to worry about Optimus and Ratchet. What's taking them so long?

"Um, Jack, Rosalie, I'd hate to be a bugger, but could you two get off?" Arcee voiced?

I blushed as I realized that we had stopped, but none of us had yet to move. I scrambled off the bike, and as did Jack.

"Guys! You'd never believe what Fowler's been babbling about!" Miko laughed as she skipped over to us.

The Groundbridge suddenly opened to reveal a very much dented Optimus and a limping Ratchet.

"Oh no. Optimus! Ratchet! What happened?" Arcee asked worriedly, assisting Ratchet as Bumblebee and Bulkhead assisted Optimus.

"I'll brief you upon our encounter as soon as Ratchet receives medical attention," Optimus winced, as he let Bee and Bulk' help him.

"For Primus sake, Optimus is the one who needs the attention! I can heal myself, thank you very much," Ratchet huffed. I rolled my eyes. Ratchet and his tough front; he's only like this 'cause he's a worry-wart about everybody's health. He's such a softie it's admirable!

"What happened to you guys anyway?" Miko asked softly once they were attended to and were healing at the moment.

"We engaged an army of undead Cybertronian warriors," Ratchet replied while holding onto his injured arm that's currently in a brace.

"Zombies?" Miko exclaimed. Oh boy. "You fought zombies and I missed it?"

"Miko!" I said sharply, giving her a pointed look.

"Bulkhead," Optimus called. "You exercised extremely poor judgement in letting the humans to accompany you."

Bulkhead stood up and looked at us, well, at Miko. "It-it won't happen again, Optimus. I-I promise."

"But it wasn't Bulkhead's fault," Miko defended, walking closer to Bulk.

"Miko! Please!" Bulkhead pled in a sharp tone.

"And check it out," Miko went on, ignoring Bulkhead, as she flipped open her phone to the picture of the data. "Recon."

Optimus bent closer to look at it. "Hmm, Ratchet, have a look. It could be of importance to Megatron." Optimus backed off to let Ratchet come and take a look.

"Wow, Megatron's back? That's really bad news, right?" Jack voiced, mind blown to this new piece of information.

Ratchet approached as he came to look at what had caught their leader's attention. "I," he looked back at Optimus, "don't understand."

Miko pulled her phone back to see what he meant. "Oops! That's the Con that tried to blow Raf and Rose away. At least, that's how he looked like before Bulkhead rearranged his grill!" as she said this, she made punching motions with her fists.

I sneaked a peak at Jack, and my face dropped. He was absolutely seething in anger. Oh dear Primus, this was NOT going to end well, I could feel it in my bones.

"Miko, Raf and Rose were almost killed! This isn't a game! When are you gonna get that through your thick skull!" He lashed. From her facial expressions, Miko did not take that very well.

"Um, we were all almost killed, Jack. You, me, Raf, Rose, even them!" Miko pointed out, her voice full of frustration as she crossed her arms with an angry huff.

"Well, if this was just an average day with the Autobots, then I don't want to be a part of it. Not anymore."

I was silent after that. I looked at him alarm in my eyes, and he looked back at me with remorse, and that was how that he could take it much longer; that he didn't want to see anyone else her harmed.

"Jack," Optimus spoke, "putting you in harm's way was never our intend. However, it is no longer the safety of you four that is at risk, but the safety of all human kind. We will respect your decision if you wish to leave."

The familiar hum of the Groundbridge was heard next. We all looked over to Ratchet, who was next to the Groundbridge panels, and a servo on the lever.

"No point in long goodbye's, here's the door," he explained emotionlessly. I glared at him. Okay, I get that he isn't particularly fond of our kind, but at least he could be neutral about it instead of biased.

Jack took one step towards the portal before halting and spinning on his heels, looking directly at Raf. "Come on, Raf," he said expectantly.

Raf looked back at me, then at Bumblebee, who had lowered his head, before looking back at Jack. "I'll be okay, Jack. See you at school," Raf said, giving a small wave.

"Sure thing," He said dejectedly, before he took his leave again.

Arcee stood in front of Jack with crossed arms, giving him a pointed look.

"I know, I know. You don't exist,"

"Don't make me hunt you down," Arcee warned, slightly deflated.

"Of course," he confirmed. But again, before he took another step, he paused, but did not turn around.

"Rose?" he called over his shoulder. All pairs of eyes/optics turned towards me now. Uh, did I mention that I hate attention? I looked down at Raf, and then at all of the Autobots before settling on Bumblebee. He looked at me with pleading eyes for a while before looking down.

"Jack," I spoke softly, not wanting to hurt his feelings. "I would..." everybody froze, and Bumblebee slumped against the wall. "...if I could. Raf needs me. They need me," I looked over at Bee, who's head had shot up, a smile in his eyes.

I heard Ratchet grumble softly, "Who said that we need you,"

**BANG!**

Everybody looked over to see a small wrench stuck on Ratchet's helm, surprising Ratchet quite a bit. They looked back at me, surprise and respect in their eyes.

"You're not the only one who can throw a wrench, Hatchet," I growled, remembering one of those stories Arcee told Jack and I about. Oh, if you're wondering where I got the wrench, I found it lying about on the sofa on the ramp.

Arcee, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead laughed openly and even Optimus chuckled. Miko and Raf had no clue upon what I was talking about but were laughing, but I caught a ghost of a smile on Jack's lips. Ratchet looked at me with respect and annoyance, but respect nevertheless.

"Yeah, I get ya. Well, see you later, I guess" He continued to walk to the portal until he was completely submerged into it. I just stared at the swirls of the Groundbridge. I looked back at Raf, who only nodded in response.

"I'll see you at home, Raf. Guess I'll see you all tomorrow?" I asked the Autobots, who looked slightly bewildered at where I was going with this.

"Of course. May I ask where you're going now?" Optimus agreed, though he had doubts about what I was going to do.

I looked simply back at the portal. Optimus looked at where I was staring and gave a simple shake of his head.

"I understand, though I shall recommend not to use force." I smiled back at Optimus and stepped into the portal.

"Wait, what? You're leaving too!?" 'Bee cried, his face crestfallen.

"No no! I will meet you and Raf back at our home, I just...need to see something first. See you later, 'Bee"

I walked up the driveway of a silent, sleeping neighbourhood. The only sign of life was coming from an open lit garage. Oh, I hope that that's Jack's house, I thought. I felt foolish for just barging in through the portal without knowing Jack's house address.

Slowly but surely I crept over to the garage door and saw Jack taking out an old, rusted, deflated, bent and worn-out cycle. He took it over to a workshop bench and got out some tools.

"Whatcha got there, Jack?"

Jack visibly jumped ten feet up into the air before looking back at me, me smiling all the way.

"Wha- how? When- Hi?" He stuttered, looking extremely bewildered.

It made me laugh. "So? Whatcha doin'?"

Jack took a minute to compose himself before answering. "Well, I need a transportation device, now that I don't own a motorcycle, so I have to go back to my old fashioned cycle."

"Jack," I interrupted, "FYI, I doubt that you ever owned Arcee, more like she owned you." In response, I got a glare. "Sorry. Not helping. What I'm trying to say is that; why do you want to go back into the past?"

"Um, because the past is normal, and I'd like to go back to it," he countered., getting a wrench out of his toolbox. That triggered the memory of me throwing a wrench of Ratchet.

"Riding your ancient cycle?" I asked sceptically. "Look Jack, imagine that your cycle is the past...ancient past... and that your motorcycle, a.k.a Arcee, is the future, or present. Now remember how everybody would look at your motorcycle with awe and that life seemed to be easier?...okay, at  
least easier to get to places-"

"Rosalie. No. I know what you're trying to do, but no. Life just got...worse. I had to...we had to fightfor survival! I do not want to spend the rest of my life, being cautious around every corner!" Jack snapped.

"But isn't that the thrill of it all? Having no idea what's coming up next? Living a life full of adventure instead of a repeated everyday life?"

"But that's your life, Rosalie!" Jack grabbed me by my shoulders and made me look at him. Hard. "I just want to be the average teenage guy who has to worry about his school work and girls, not about surviving!"

I heard two sets of tires hit the driveway and turned my head to see who it was. It was a green all terrain vehicle (which sort of reminded me of a SWAT truck). I could see the familiar silhouette of my dear friend Miko inside. Fine, he didn't want to listen to me, maybe he'll listen to her.

I slumped my shoulders in defeat. "Okay, if that's what you want. See you at school, Jack."

"Rosal-"

"Jack! We need to talk," Miko interrupted as she stalked over to us in a huff.

I leaned in and whispered into her ear. "It's gonna be tough. I'll be waiting for you inside Bulkhead,"

I climbed aboard the vehicle, whom I'm guessing is Bulkhead, and fell asleep instantly from today's stress.

* * *

**!IMPORTANT!  
**

**HI! I managed to work on this since I found a soft copy of this in my email...no promises on publishing my other stories soon though. I have put up a poll on my profile regarding the pairing for this story, so please vote there, or give me your thoughts through a review. I hope you don't mind that I can't reply to reviews in this chapter since I have to get onto the other stories, but I'll try to update soon! Yes, my laptop is still bugged, and my dad said that the probably of recovering ANY of the data from the him (yes, I believe that mechanics have a gender too,) are very slim. Oh, I do hope you'll get well soon, Vortex! (My Laptop) =P Love you all! 3 I'm closing the poll by Friday-saturday since I really need the result for my next few chapters, so please do vote soon! 3 Just so you know, the pairings you can vote for are: (Note that this list is shuffled)**

**o Rosalie x Bumblebee**

**o Rosalie x Jack**

**o Rosalie x ?Decepticon? (Though I'm sure you already know who the mech is =P)**

**~Forest Rose~**


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